Polyphenylene ether-polyamide compositions and methods for preparation

ABSTRACT

Polyphenylene ether-polyamide compositions compatibilized with polyfunctional compounds such as aliphatic polycarboxylic acids can achieve improved impact strength and ductility by producing an intermediate polyphenylene ether-polyamide product containing at least some nylon 6,6 and thereafter further compounding the intermediate product with a second polyamide component containing at least some of a polyamide different from nylon 6,6.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 262,520 filed Oct. 25, 1988 and now issued as U.S. Pat. No.5,000,897, which in turn is a continuation of Ser. No. 841,974, filed onMar. 20, 1986 now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

For compatibilized polyphenylene ether-polyamide compositions whichutilize certain polyfunctional compatibilizing compounds such asaliphatic polycarboxylic acids, it is possible to obtain improved impactstrength and ductility by manufacturing an intermediate polyphenyleneether-polyamide compound utilizing a first polyamide componentcontaining at least some nylon 6,6. The intermediate product is furthercompounded with a second polyamide component containing one or morepolyamide resins different from nylon 6,6 or blends of such polyamideresins with nylon 6,6, to provide a compatibilized polyphenyleneether-polyamide composition having superior properties.

2. Brief Description of Related Art

Compatibilized polyphenylene ether-polyamide compositions have beenprovided utilizing a variety of base resins and compatibilizing systems.These thermoplastic products offer a wide range of beneficial propertieswhich take advantage of the strengths of the basic resins whileimproving upon the weaknesses of each. Among the most useful propertiesof compatibilized polyphenylene ether-polyamide compositions areexcellent heat resistance, chemical resistance, impact strength,hydrolytic stability and dimensional stability. Such compatibilizedpolyphenylene ether-polyamide compositions have found great utility inexterior automotive applications such as body panels. Examples ofcompatibilized polyphenylene ether-polyamide compositions can be foundin U.S. patent application Ser. No. 736,490, filed May 20, 1985 and U.S.Pat. No. 4,315,086, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

The improved properties of polyphenylene ether-polyamide compositionshave been achieved by providing a compatible combination of thesenormally incompatible resins.

A particularly useful series of compatibilized polyphenyleneether-polyamide products are based upon the combination of apolyphenylene ether, a polyamide resin (especially nylon 6,6) and apolyfunctional compatibilizing agent such as the aliphaticpolycarboxylic acids (e.g. citric acid). When chemical resistance isimportant, the polyamide components will comprise at least 35 weightpercent of the total composition, based upon the weight of thepolyphenylene ether, the polyamide and any rubber impact modifier whichmay be used. This weight proportion will typically enable the polyamideto form a continuous phase as will the use of compatibilizing amounts ofthe polyfunctional compatibilizing agent.

It is believed that polyfunctional compatibilizing agents can facilitateformation of a graft copolymer of the polyphenylene ether and polyamidecomponents. Such a reaction has been readily shown to take place underthe time, temperature and shear conditions of typical thermoplasticextrusion processes. Graft copolymer produced in this fashion may serveas a melt surfactant which stabilizes the morphology of the resinouscomponents of the system. Compatibility may also be achieved by improvedinterfacial adhesion of the resinous components.

Although compatibilized PPE/polyamide compositions utilizing nylon 6,6offer many advantageous properties, compositions containing otherpolyamides are also sought. Compositions containing a nylon 6 componentshould benefit from reduced raw material cost as well as improvedductility. Experience has shown, however, that preparation ofPPE/polyamide compositions containing nylon 6 and utilizing apolycarboxylic compatibilizing agent such as citric acid has been moredifficult than preparation of PPE/polyamide compositions containingnylon 6,6. Generally, more severe compounding conditions are required toachieve acceptable properties.

It has now been discovered that PPE/polyamide compositionscompatibilized with an aliphatic polycarboxylic acid compound and whichcontain a plurality of polyamide components have better impact strengthand ductility compared to control compositions containing only one nyloncomponent when manufactured in accordance with the process describedbelow.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Compatibilized polyphenylene ether-polyamide compositions exhibiting theaforementioned improved properties are provided in the following manner.

A first compounding step provides an intermediate PPE/polyamide product.The compounding step is achieved by means typically found in the art ofmanufacturing thermoplastic resins. Generally, the constituentcomponents are blended together, often in a mechanical blender, toprovide a generally uniform mixture of starting materials. This blend ofingredients is then fed to a compounding apparatus which appliessufficient temperature and shear conditions to produce a thermoplasticresin product. The thermoplastic resin product can be a mixture orreaction product of the components. Typically, the compounding apparatuswill be an extruder of the single or twin screw type. Melt blendingapparatus may also be suitable for the compounding step.

In the instant case, a polyphenylene ether resin is blended with a firstpolyamide component containing at least some nylon 6,6 resin togetherwith a polyfunctional compatibilizing agent, an optional rubber impactmodifier, and typical stabilizers if desired.

This mixture may be fed to the feedthroat of an extruder which beginscompounding the ingredients to provide an intermediate PPE/polyamideproduct.

Subsequent to the aforementioned first compounding step, furthercompounding takes place in a second step. In a preferred embodiment, anextruder is fitted with a second addition port, downstream from the mainfeedthroat. In an extrusion process, this second step can operate on acontinuous basis.

At this downstream addition port, the second polyamide component isadded to the intermediate PPE/polyamide composition, and additionalcompounding takes place. It is evident that the polyamide charged inthis second step will probably experience less degradation since it hasless exposure to high temperature and shear conditions.

The compatibilized PPE/polyamide final product, which in this instanceis the extrudate of the compounding process, can be dried and pelletizedby conventional means to provide thermoplastic resin products.

An alternate, less preferred embodiment could accomplish the secondcompounding step by re-compounding the intermediate product of the firstcompounding step. For example, the original blend of ingredients(containing the first polyamide component) could be fully extruded toprovide the intermediate polyphenylene ether-polyamide product. Thisintermediate product could be further blended with the second polyamidecomponent which is re-compounded (such as by re-extrusion) to providethe final compatibilized polyphenylene ether-polyamide product.

The compatibilized polyphenylene ether-polyamide compositions producedherein are typically comprised of

A. 10 to 55 parts by weight of a polyphenylene ether resin, preferablypoly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether);

B. 35 to 90 parts by weight of a plurality of polyamide resins comprisedof (i) 5 to 75 weight percent nylon 6,6 and (ii) 25 to 95 weight percentof a second polyamide resin selected from the group consisting of nylon6; nylon 6,9; nylon 10; nylon 11; nylon 12; nylon 4,6 and amorphousnylon. The process of the present invention is a multistep processwherein the polyamide resins are provided in two distinct components.The first polyamide component is utilized in the first compounding stepand is always comprised of at least some nylon 6,6. This first polyamidecomponent will typically comprise 10 to 50 weight percent of all thepolyamide resins utilized in the compatibilized polyphenyleneether-polyamide compositions. Furthermore, referring solely to thisfirst polyamide component, at least 20 weight percent of this componentwill be nylon 6,6. The remaining 0 to 80 weight percent of this firstpolyamide component can be one or more of these polyamides: nylon 6;nylon 6,9; nylon 10; nylon 11; nylon 12; nylon 4,6 and amorphous nylons;etc. Preferably, all or most of the first polyamide component will becomprised of nylon 6,6.

Accordingly, the second polyamide component will constituteapproximately 50 to 90 weight percent of the polyamide resins in thetotal composition. Inasmuch as it is an object of the present inventionto avoid using nylon 6,6 as the sole polyamide in the second compoundingstep, at least one other polyamide such as those enumerated above willbe utilized. As will be seen in the examples, blends of these otherpolyamides with nylon 6,6 are acceptable. Nylon 6 is the preferredpolyamide for use in the second compounding step.

C. a compatibilizing amount, typically 0.1 to 2.0 parts of apolyfunctional compatibilizer compound characterized as having both (a)a group represented by the formula (OR) wherein R is hydrogen, or analkyl, aryl, acyl, or carbonyl dioxy group and (b) at least two groupseach of which may be the same or different selected from carboxylicacid, acid halide, acid anhydride, anhydride, acid halide anhydride,acid ester, acid amide, imido, amino and salts thereof. Preferred amongthese are the aliphatic polycarboxylic acids such as citric acidmono-hydrate and anhydrous citric acid. Less than about 0.1 partscompatibilizing agent will not be generally useful, whereas loadingsabove 2.0 parts offer little additional benefit;

D. optionally, 0 to 25 parts by weight of a rubbery impact modifier suchas styrene-butadiene-styrene triblock copolymer,styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene triblock copolymer,styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene triblock copolymer,styrene-ethylene/propylene diblock copolymer, or core/shell rubbermodifiers such as those having a crosslinked acrylate core and acrosslinked styrene or crosslinked styrene-acrylonitrile shell.

Polyphenylene ethers are a well known class of compounds sometimesreferred to as polyphenylene oxides. Examples of suitable polyphenyleneethers and processes for preparation can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos.3,3086,874; 3,306,875; 3,257,357; and 3,257,358 which are eachincorporated by reference. Compositions of the present invention willencompass homopolymers, copolymers and graft copolymers obtained by theoxidative coupling of phenolic compounds. The preferred polyphenyleneethers used as base resins in compositions of the present invention willbe comprised of units derived from 2,6-dimethyl phenol. Alsocontemplated are PPE copolymers comprised of units derived from2,6-dimethyl phenol and 2,3,6-trimethyl phenol.

A particularly useful polyphenylene ether would bepoly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether) having an intrinsic viscosity(I.V.) greater than, approximately 0.10 dl/g as measured in chloroformat 25° C. The I.V. will typically be between 0.30 and 0.60 dl/g.

The polyamide resins useful in the practice of the present invention areknown as nylons, and are characterized by the presence of an amide group(--CONH--). Nylon-6 and nylon-6,6 are the generally preferred polyamidesand are available from a variety of commercial sources.

The polyamides can be provided by a number of well known processes.Nylon-6, for example, is a polymerization product of caprolactam.Nylon-6,6 is a condensation product of adipic acid andhexamethylenediamine. A nylon-6,6 having an average molecular weight ofapproximately 10,000 is especially preferred for use in the firstcompounding step of the present process. Preferred polyamides willtypically have a relative viscosity of at least 35, in accordance withASTM Test Method D789.

The polyfunctional compatibilizer compounds suitable for use herein arecharacterized as having both (a) a group represented by the formula (OR)wherein R is hydrogen or an alkyl, aryl, acyl or carbonyl dioxy groupand (b) at least two groups each of which may be the same or differentselected from carboxylic acid, acid halide, acid anhydride, anhydride,acid halide anhydride, acid ester, acid amide, imido, amino and saltsthereof. Typical of this group of compatibilizers are the aliphaticpolycarboxylic acids, acid esters and acid amides represented by theformula:

    (R.sup.I O).sub.m R(COOR.sup.II).sub.n (CONR.sup.III R.sup.IV).sub.s

wherein R is a linear or branched chain, saturated aliphatic hydrocarbonof from 2 to 20, preferably 2 to 10, carbon atoms; R^(I) is selectedfrom the group consisting of hydrogen or an alyl, aryl, acyl or carbonyldioxy group of 1 to 10, preferably 1 to 6, most preferably 1 to 4,carbon atoms, especially preferred is hydrogen; each R^(II) isindependently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen or an alkylor aryl group of from 1 to 20 carbon atoms, preferably from 1 to 10carbon atoms; each R^(III) and R^(IV) is independently selected from thegroup consisting essentially of hydrogen or an alkyl or aryl group offrom 1 to 10, preferably from 1 to 6, most preferably 1 to 4, carbonatoms; m is equal to 1 and (n+s) is greater than or equal to 2,preferably equal to 2 or 3, and n and s are each greater than or equalto zero and wherein (OR^(I)) is alpha or beta to a carbonyl group and atleast two carbonyl groups are separated by 2 to 6 carbon atoms.Obviously, R^(I), R^(II), R^(III) and R^(IV) cannot be aryl when therespective substituent has less than 6 carbon atoms.

Illustrative of suitable polycarboxylic acids there may be given citricacid, malic acid, and agaricic acid; including the various commercialforms thereof, such as, for example, the anhydrous and hydrated acids.Of these, citric acid is one of the preferred compatibilizing agents.Illustrative of acid esters useful herein include for example, acetylcitrate and mono- and/or di- stearyl citrates and the like. Suitableacid amides useful herein include for example N,N'- diethyl citric acidamide; N,N'-dipropyl citric acid amide; N-phenyl citric acid amide;N-dodecyl citric acid amide; N,N'-didodecyl citric acid amide andN-dodecyl malic acid amide. Derivatives of the foregoing polycarboxylicacids are also suitable for use in the practice of the presentinvention. Especially preferred derivatives are the salts thereof,including the salts with amines and/preferably, the alkali and alkalinemetal salts. Exemplary of suitable salts include calcium malate, calciumcitrate, potassium malate and potassium citrate.

Conventional additives such as pigments, thermal and color stabilizers,reinforcing and other fillers, flame retardants, metal synergists andprocessing aids may all be employed in the practice of the invention.

The following examples describe several non-limiting embodiments of theinvention. All parts are by weight unless noted otherwise.

EXAMPLES 1 AND 2

Several blends were prepared, each of which contained 49 parts by weightpoly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether) which had an intrinsic viscosityof, approximately, 0.45 dl/g as measured in chloroform at 25° C., 0.70part citric acid monohydrate compatibilizing agent, 10 parts rubbermodifier (Kraton D 1102, Shell Chemical, styrene-butadiene-styrenetriblock copolymer), 0.30 part Irganox 1076 hindered phenol stabilizer,0.10 part KI stabilizer, and 10 parts of a specified nylon.

The foregoing blended components of the composition were fed to thefeedthroat of a 30 mm Werner & Pfleiderer twin screw extruder which wasfitted with a downstream addition port. The extruder was set at 550° F.,and was fitted with a downstream addition port.

An additional 31 parts of a nylon component specified in the table werefed at the downstream addition port.

The resulting extruded strand was chopped into pellets, dried and moldedinto ASTM test parts in a Newbury 3 ounce injection molder having a 550°F. set temperature profile and a mold set temperature of 150° F. Alltest results described in Table 1 were performed in accordance with ASTMtest specifications.

The polyamide component designated as nylon 6,6 was NP-10,000 from NylonPolymers. The nylon 6 was Nycoa 471 from Nylon Corp. of America. Example1 used a 50:50 blend of both nylons at both the extruder feedthroat aswell as the downstream addition port. Improvement can be readily seen inExample 1, and, Example 2 dramatically shows improvement in Notched Izodimpact and ductility utilizing the process of the present inventionwhere the nylon 6,6 component is fed at the extruder feedthroat and thenylon 6 component is fed downstream. Mode of failure, in the Dynatupimpact test, is indicated by D for ductile failure, Sp for ductilefailure with a single split running across but not breaking the plaque,and B refers to brittle failure with many pieces.

The ductile behavior exhibited by the plastic products of the presentinvention is an extremely important property for many usefulthermoplastic applications, especially in the automotive industry.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                                      A*    B*      1        2                                        ______________________________________                                        Blend Nylon (10 parts)                                                                        6,6     6       Blend.sup.(a)                                                                        6,6                                    Downstream Nylon (31                                                                          6,6     6       Blend.sup.(a)                                                                        6                                      parts)                                                                        Physical Properties                                                           Izod Impact-Notched                                                                           3.7     2.4     6.4    9.0                                    (ft.-lbs./in)                                                                 Tensile Elongation (in %)                                                                     73      122     75     74                                     Dynatup Impact (ft-lbs/in)                                                                    44.4    45.8    40.8   44.8                                   Mode of Failure D/Sp    Sp/B    D/Sp   Ductile                                Heat Distortion Temp. @                                                                       382     357     356    358                                    66 psi (°F.)                                                           ______________________________________                                         *Comparative Examples                                                         .sup.(a) Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 in a 50:50 weight ratio                   

EXAMPLES 3 TO 5

A second series of blends were prepared in the same manner as describedfor Example 1. The rubber component was either styrene-butadiene-styrene(S-B-S) triblock copolymer (Shell Chemical, Kraton D-1102), orstyrene-ethylene/propylene (S-EP) selectively hydrogenated diblockcopolymer (Shell Chemical, Kraton G-1702). In Example 3, a mixture of 10parts Nylon 6,6 and 31 parts Nylon 6 was prepared prior to extrusion.Ten parts of this mixture was used in the blend at the main feedthroatand 31 parts were added downstream. A different, less severe screwconfiguration in the 30 mm Werner & Pfleiderer extruder was utilized inthis series, causing the extrudate to experience a lesser degree ofshear.

The same general improvement trends are seen in the series ofexperiments, especially regarding notched Izod impact strength andductility. The absolute values of the notched Izod impact are lower,perhaps due to the less severe screw design.

                                      TABLE 2                                     __________________________________________________________________________                      D*  E*  3     4   5                                         __________________________________________________________________________    BLEND NYLON (10 parts)                                                                          6,6 6   BLEND.sup.(a)                                                                       6,6 6,6                                       DOWNSTREAM NYLON (31 parts)                                                                     6,6 6   BLEND.sup.(a)                                                                       6   6                                         RUBBER (10 parts) S-B-S                                                                             S-B-S                                                                             S-B-S S-B-S                                                                             S-EP                                      Physical properties                                                           Izod Impact-Notched (ft-lbs/in)                                                                 3.2 2.5 3.6   3.9 7.0                                       Dynatup Impact (ft-lbs/in)                                                                      43.4                                                                              42.5                                                                              50.9  53.5                                                                              44.2                                      Mode of Failure   Sp  Sp  D     D   D                                         HDT @ 66 psi (°F.)                                                                       382 364 360   360 366                                       __________________________________________________________________________     *Comparative Examples                                                         .sup.(a) Nylon 6 and Nylon 6,6 in a 31:10 weight ratio.                  

What is claimed is:
 1. The product of a process for producing acompatibilized polyphenylene ether-polyamide composition having improvedimpact strength and ductility comprising the steps of:(a) compounding ina first step (i) a polyphenylene ether resin, (ii) a first polyamidecomponent comprised of 20 to 100 weight percent nylon 6,6 resin and 0 to80 weight percent of another polyamide resin; and (iii) acompatibilizing amount of a compatibilizer compound; thereby providingan intermediate polyphenylene ether-polyamide composition; and (b)compounding in a second step, into said intermediate polyphenyleneether-polyamide composition, a second polyamide component containing atleast one polyamide resin selected from the group consisting of nylon 6;nylon 6,9; nylon 10; nylon 11; nylon 12; nylon 4,6 and amorphous nylon;or a blend of said second polyamide with nylon 6,6, thereby providing acompatibilized polyphenylene ether-polyamide product comprised of aplurality of polyamide resins.
 2. A product of claim 1 wherein saidcompatibilizing agent is a polyfunctional compatibilizer compound whichcontains both a group (I) represented by the formula (--OR) wherein R ishydrogen or an alkyl, aryl, acyl or carbonyl dioxy group and (II) atleast two groups each of which may be the same or different selectedfrom carboxylic acid, acid halide, acid anhydride, acid halideanhydride, acid ester, acid amide, imido, amino and salts thereof.
 3. Aproduct of claim 2 wherein said polyphenylene ether resin is comprisedprimarily of units selected from the group consisting of2,6-dimethylphenol and 2,3,6-trimethylphenol units and has an intrinsicviscosity of approximately 0.1 to 0.6 dl/g as measured in chloroform at25° C.
 4. A product of claim 3 wherein said polyphenylene ether ispoly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene ether).
 5. A product of claim 2 whereinsaid compatibilizer is selected from the group consisting ofpolycarboxylic acids, acid asters and acid amides represented by theformula:

    (R.sup.I O).sub.m R(COOR.sup.II).sub.n (CONR.sup.III R.sup.IV).sub.s

wherein R is a linear or branched chain, saturated aliphatic hydrocarbonof from 2 to 20 carbon atoms; R^(I) is selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen or an alkyl, aryl, acyl or carbonyl dioxy groupof 1 to 10 carbon atoms; R^(II) is selected from the group consisting ofhydrogen or an alkyl or aryl group of from 1 to 20 carbon atoms; R^(III)and R^(IV) are independently selected from the group consisting ofhydrogen or an alkyl or aryl group of from 1 to 10 carbon atoms; m isequal to 1; (n+s) is greater than or equal to zero; and (OR^(I)) isalpha or beta to a carbonyl group and at least two carbonyl groups areseparated by 2 to 6 carbon atoms.
 6. A product of claim 5 wherein thecompatibilizing compound is a polycarboxylic acid selected from thegroup consisting of anhydrous citric acid, anhydrous malic acid,anhydrous agaricic acid, hydrated citric acid, hydrated malic acid,hydrated agaricic acid, salts of any of the foregoing and mixtures ofmore than one of the foregoing.
 7. A product of claim 6 wherein saidsalts are selected from the group consisting of calcium malate, calciumcitrate, potassium malate, potassium citrate and mixtures of more thanone of the foregoing.
 8. A product of claim 5 wherein saidcompatibilizing compound is an acid ester selected from the groupconsisting of acetyl citrate, monostearyl citrate, distearyl citrate andmixtures of more than one of the foregoing.
 9. A product of claim 5wherein said compatibilizing compound is an acid amide selected from thegroup consisting of N,N'-diethyl citric acid amide, N,N'-dipropyl citricacid amide, N-phenyl citric acid amide, N-dodecyl citric acid amide,N,N'-didodecyl citric acid amide, N-dodecyl malic acid amide, andmixtures of more than one of the foregoing.
 10. A product of claim 9wherein said compatibilizing agent is citric acid.
 11. A product ofclaim 10 wherein said compatibilizing agent is 0.2 to 2.0 parts citricacid per hundred parts by weight of the compatibilized polyphenyleneether-polyamide product.
 12. A product of claim 2 wherein said firstcompound step is accomplished at a feed throat of a thermoplasticextruder.
 13. A product of claim 12 wherein said second compounding stepis accomplished by feeding said second polyamide component to saidextruder at an additional port downstream from the feed throat of saidextruder.
 14. A product of claim 2 wherein said process comprises thefurther steps of drying and pelletizing a thermoplastic extrudate of theforegoing steps.
 15. A product prepared by a process for producing acompatibilized polyphenylene ether-polyamide composition comprising 10to 55 parts by weight of polyphenylene ether resin and 35 to 90 parts ofa plurality of polyamide resins, based on the weight of all such resinstaken together and having improved impact strength and ductility,comprising the steps of:(a) compounding in a first step(i) polyphenyleneether resin; (ii) a first polyamide component comprising 10 to 50 weightpercent of all polyamide resin utilized in the composition, said firstpolyamide component being comprised of 20 to 100 weight percent nylon6,6 and 0 to 80 weight percent nylon 6; and (iii) 0.2 to 2.0 parts byweight polycarboxylic acid, thereby providing an intermediate product;and (b) compounding in a second step, into said intermediate product, 50to 90 weight percent of all polyamide resin utilized, of nylon 6 or ablend of nylon 6 and nylon 6,6.
 16. A product of claim 2 wherein saidpolycarboxylic acid is citric acid monohydrate.
 17. A compatibilizedpolyphenylene ether-polyamide composition having improved impactstrength and ductility prepared by a process comprising the steps of:(a)compounding in a first step (i) polyphenylene ether resin, (ii) a firstpolyamide component comprised of nylon 6,6 resin; and (iii) acompatibilizing amount of a compatibilizer compound; thereby providingan intermediate polyphenylene ether-polyamide composition; and (b)compounding in a second step, into said intermediate polyphenyleneether-polyamide composition, a second polyamide component comprised of apolyamide resin other than nylon 6,6 resin thereby providingcompatibilized polyphenylene ether-polyamide product comprised of aplurality of polyamide resins.
 18. A compatibilized polyphenyleneether-polyamide composition having improved impact strength andductility prepared by a process comprising the steps of:(a) compoundingin a first step (i) 10 to 55 parts by weight of polyphenylene etherresin, (ii) a first polyamide component comprising 10 to 50 weightpercent of all the polyamide resins utilized in the composition andcomprised of 20 to 100 weight percent nylon 6,6 resin and 0 to 80 weightpercent of a polyamide resin selected from the group consisting of nylon6, nylon 6,9, nylon 10, nylon 11, nylon 12, nylon 4,6 and amorphousnylon; and (iii) 0.2 to 2.0 parts by weight of a compatibilizer compoundcharacterized as having both (1.) a monovalent group represented by theformula (OR) wherein R is hydrogen or an alkyl, aryl, acyl, orcarbonyldioxy group and (2.) at least two groups which may be the sameor different selected from the group consisting of carboxylic acid, acidhalide, acid anhydride, acid ester, acid amide, imide, amine and saltsthereof; thereby providing an intermediate polyphenylene etherpolyamidecomposition; and (b) compounding in a second step, into saidintermediate polyphenylene ether-polyamide composition, a secondpolyamide component comprising 50 to 90 weight percent of all thepolyamide resins utilized in the composition and containing at least onepolyamide resin selected from the group consisting of nylon 6; nylon6,9; nylon 10; nylon 11; nylon 12; nylon 4,6 and amorphous nylon; or ablend of said second polyamide with nylon 6,6, thereby providing acompatibilized polyphenylene ether-polyamide product comprised of 35 to90 parts by weight of a plurality of polyamide resins.
 19. A product ofclaim 15 wherein said first polyamide component is present in an amountof at least about 1 percent by weight based upon 100 percent by weightof all polymeric components.